A Letter to Fiona: 4 Months

To My Darling Fiona,

You are four months old today! As I sit down and write this letter, all I can think about is how one year ago yesterday, we found out that you would be joining our family. It’s crazy to think back now about how nervous and excited we were on that day, and how much has happened since then. From not knowing whether we would be having a son or a daughter, to wondering about what color your hair and eyes would be, to guessing what personality traits you would pick up…we just had no idea what to expect! But, here you are now, so alert and loveable, and the best thing that every happened to us. I can say one thing for certain baby girl, you are a million times more perfect than we could ever have imagined. We feel so blessed every day that you chose us to be your parents.

We feel blessed even when the days are hard and long and tough, which happened more often than not this month. You hit a major growth spurt this month, which in your mind equaled needing to be held all of the time. Not held so that you can cuddle, mind you, but held so that you can look down on everything around you. Your Papa and I joke that you want to be held just so you can look down upon your minions. Needless to say, your loud, vocal disdain of anything that resembled a seat, a bouncer or play-mat, equaled one tired Momma. You must have been exhausted too, because boy oh boy, did you grow. One night I was putting you in your footed pajamas and they were nice and roomy, and comfy, and the next night I went to put them on you and they barely fit. You really are getting to be such a big girl! 

Thankfully, all that growing didn’t interrupt your sleep too much. You now sleep from around 7:00 PM – 6:30 or 7:00 AM, and take two pretty good naps. You absolutely love your sleep. You’ve also become a self-soothing champ, and will talk or play in your crib if you wake up, before drifting off to sleep again. When you wake up in the morning you are so happy and excited and will just laugh and smile and squirm when we come to pick you up. I cannot even begin to explain how happy this makes us. We feel like we hit the baby sleep lottery with you, and we definitely don’t take it for granted.

You have also had a lot of changes and milestones this month! You stopped being swaddled around 15 weeks, and now love to stretch out and move in your sleep. We tried not swaddling a couple of times before week 15, but you definitely were not up for it. Then one day, we put you down and you fell right asleep without that sweet swaddle blanket, and have been without it ever since. We certainly miss the days of snuggling you up as a Fiona-burrito, but as usual, you let us know when you were ready to move up and on to the next big thing. In addition to giving up the swaddle, you also gave up any interest in your pacifiers. You are in love with your hands, and since they are constantly available, you’ve decided they are 100% better to stick in your mouth. I’m not really going to complain about this one, since it means we won’t have to break the habit, but I do miss the days when I could calm you down easily with the soothie pacifier.

Currently you love picking things up and pulling things down. Whether it’s your lovies, toys or my hair, you are so excited to grab, grab, grab. It’s kind of humorous to see you be able to pick up things that are sometimes half your size, and I love watching you light up with excitement when you discover something new. You also adore talking and singing. You still aren’t that excited by most toys (although you do tolerate the jumparoo we introduced fairly well). You would prefer to just have conversations all day long. Your face lights up when your Papa or I talk to you, and you babble along with the great tales that you want to tell us. You also love to try and sing. I’ll have the radio on, or will sing a song to you, and you’ll start cooing right along with the music. You most definitely get your conversation and singing skills from your Papa.

This month you were also baptized into the Catholic Church. The baptism was held at the same church where your Papa and I were married in 2008. It was a beautiful ceremony, and the deacon who baptized you loved your name so much that he broke out singing the Irish Blessing song. We loved that our families came out to share this special day with you, and we are so thankful to God for bringing you to into our lives.

As for interesting facts:

-      -  It’s your first fall! We’re filling it with as much pretty leaves, pumpkins and football a four month old can handle.  You love to lay outside on a blanket and look up at the yellow, orange and red leaves.

-       - You were baptized on October 7^th, 2012

-       - You can almost roll over from your belly to back. You get a bit stuck on your side, and have been trying to grab onto things to help try and pull yourself over. Of course, this leads us to believe you are a genius child.

-       - You still protest tummy time with as much passion as a toddler throwing an epic temper tantrum. I’m fairly certain you could probably crawl right now if you decided you wanted to do so, but you prefer to let the neighborhood know that you really, really dislike tummy-time. Then you pretend to sleep. It’s actually quite endearing some days, but the dramatics of it all has me a bit nervous for toddler Fiona.

-       - You adore the Itsy Bitsy Spider Song. You squeal with delight every time I start singing it, which of course, means I sing it 1000x a day. Anything to make you happy, little one.

-       = You took your first trip to the apple orchard. You of course fell asleep the second we arrived, but there are pictures to prove that you were actually there.

I love you more than I ever could have imagined I would 365 days ago. You are our smiley faced, giggle-fest, red-headed little love bug. You are our sunshine.

xoxo,

Your Mama & Papa